


Embers

by gentledusk



Category: F-Zero (Video Games), F-Zero GP Legend, F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 06:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10938507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gentledusk/pseuds/gentledusk
Summary: Ryu swings by the Falcon House, Bart’s injury acts up, and Bart thinks in cheesy analogies.





	Embers

**Author's Note:**

> I finally finished the fic I started months ago based on [this fab pic](http://betweentheteeth.tumblr.com/post/157177637242/uhh-so-i-started-watching-the-f-zero-anime-and) by betweentheteeth! Thank you so much for rekindling my passion for the anime and for inspiring me to finally write something for it. This is set shortly after [episode 35, Falcon's Confession](http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/rah/fzero/35/). Can also be found on Tumblr [here](http://gentledusk.tumblr.com/post/160808982274/embers-fic-ryubart).
> 
> Side note: Ryu calls Bart マスター in the sub, but I thought that having him call Bart “Bartender” or “Boss” or something similar sounded kinda strange for writing in English. Clank calls Bart おっちゃん, so I decided to have both him and Ryu call Bart “old man” as a like, mildly impolite but also affectionate nickname. I think it fits their characters? Anyway, on to the fic.

As expected, when the door swings open, it's Ryu who comes in through it.

It’s not like Falcon House is an unpopular place, per se. Captain Falcon does have his share of fans who appreciate the café’s coffee and atmosphere, but Bart wouldn't call it a booming business, exactly. However, it does have its regulars, and one particular customer who swings by more regularly than most.

“Hello, Ryu,” he calls from behind the counter, setting down the glass he’s wiping. “Your usual?”

Ryu had once made a comment about how he always seemed to be polishing glasses, and wasn't there some kind of future-tech glass-polisher he could use? The reality is that he just likes having something to do with his hands. Bart Lemming, Captain Falcon, Andy Summer--no matter which he is, he always feels better when he’s able to take action. Even when that action is as mundane as polishing a glass.

Ryu nods absently at him, plopping down onto a stool and staring into space. Bart gets the coffeemaker going and waits. Ryu will tell him what's on his mind eventually, and if not, a little gentle prompting will probably do the trick. Bart’s patient when he needs to be. Luckily, Ryu has managed (yet again) to swing by when there are no other customers around, and Clank is in his room working on something on his computer. They’re alone, and he can devote all his attention to trying to help resolve whatever is troubling Ryu. The darkened sky outside indicates it's near closing time anyway, so he takes the liberty of turning the “OPEN” sign on the door around to “CLOSED” before sliding back behind the counter again.

“Busy day?” he asks as he adds the cream and sugar. He's gone through the motions so many times that he doesn't even have to think about the amount he pours into the cup.

“A little,” says Ryu, eyes still not really focusing on anything in particular. He doesn’t elaborate, which in itself is a little worrying, because it usually doesn't take much to get Ryu to spill what’s eating him. If there’s one thing Ryu isn’t, it’s hesitant. He’s bold and reckless, stubbornly unafraid to confront any challenge head-on. Sometimes even when a little more foresight and caution would be ideal.

So...this is either something really bad, or something he doesn't feel like he can talk to Bart about. Or both. The thought is not a comforting one. Ryu doesn't even react when Bart slides his drink over, gazing unseeingly at the steam rising from the cup, and Bart tries to think of what else he can do to help when he doesn't even know what the problem is.

“Do you really think Captain Falcon is ok?” Ryu asks. He doesn't look up.

_Ah._ “Yes, I'm sure he’ll be all right. Nothing can keep Captain Falcon down for long.”

“He saved my life,” Ryu says, taking a swig of his coffee before setting it down again. “If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't even be sitting here now.”

“I’m glad you're alive,” says Bart. “Both of you. I’m sure he’s fine, wherever he is now.”

Ryu huffs out a breath and runs a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more than usual. “Other people shouldn't get hurt because of me.”

“They shouldn't,” Bart agrees with a gentle smile. “But what happened wasn't your fault. All you can do is try harder in the future to make sure it doesn't happen again.”

Ryu gives him a searching look, perhaps trying to see if he really means what he said. And he does; it's not Ryu's fault that Dark Million exists, and it's not his fault that Bart was careless enough to not notice Miss Killer’s intentions until it was almost too late. Apparently Ryu sees this in Bart’s expression, because he nods once, decisively. “Thanks, old man.”

Bart nods back and raises a hand, intending to give Ryu a reassuring clap on the shoulder (reassuring for both of them, though Ryu probably doesn't know it), but in the moment he forgets about the very injury they've just been discussing. His shoulder seizes up and his arm jerks, a pained grunt escaping through gritted teeth. He lowers his arm again, but the damage is done. Ryu's head had jerked at the first hint of sound, lips are slightly parted, wide grey eyes taking in every detail of the scene before him.

“What happened to your arm?” Ryu asks. His eyes are fixed on Bart’s left side.

Bart puts on a sheepish grin and waves his right hand in the air. “Ah, I guess I’m just getting aches and pains in my age. It’s nothing to worry about, really.”

Ryu growls and jumps to his feet, slamming both hands down on the counter. “Cut the bullshit, you're not even that old. If you're seriously hurt, hiding it will only make it worse! Have you even gotten it looked at?”

If he didn't know Ryu so well, he supposes he'd be startled by the sudden outburst, but right now Ryu just reminds him very much of a puppy. A puppy with angry eyebrows.

“It's been treated,” Bart says, which is more or less true. He's treated it to the best of his ability. He just hasn't gotten it looked at in a hospital. It’ll probably scar permanently, but it’ll heal, and it's not as if he can explain to the hospital staff how exactly he’d gotten injured. Not to mention how suspicious it’d be to report an injury in the exact same place as Captain Falcon so soon after the incident.

Like a dog with a bone, however (and he really needs to stop comparing Ryu to a dog), Ryu doesn't let the subject drop. “But how did you get hurt in the first place?”

Bart heaves a sigh and wonders how they’ve ended up talking about his troubles instead of the other way around. To be fair, he really should have expected that being evasive would only strengthen Ryu’s determination to find some answers. “I was cut,” he says.

Ryu's mouth opens.

“Someone cut me,” Bart elaborates, before Ryu can go on another tirade.

Ryu's mouth closes. He stares. Then, “H-Hey! What do you mean, someone cut you? Who was it? Did you tell the police? Or one of us? Why didn't you say so sooner? So when Clank made the coffee and said you were taking a break, it was because...”

Bart’s eyes dart to Ryu's forgotten cup, then back to his face again. “I didn't want to worry you all,” he says, which is true. “Someone's already looking into it,” he says, which is also technically true, because he himself, as Captain Falcon, is looking into it. Somehow, he doubts Ryu would approve of this reasoning, given how he’d shouted at Captain Falcon to go to the hospital before for this exact same injury. It's a wonder he hasn't made the connection yet.

Ryu’s gaze bores into him for a few long moments before he scowls and turns away. “Well...if you say so. But you’d better be more careful in the future, old man. Clank’s coffee doesn't hold a candle to yours.”

Bart studies Ryu during the silence that follows--notes his crossed arms, his wrinkled brow, the rigidity in his stance. The way he shifts from foot to foot, like he doesn't know what to do with himself while standing in one place.

“Ryu, please look at me.”

Ryu jerks his head back towards Bart.

“Thank you,” he says, completely honest this time. It's a novel feeling, to be the one being worried about for once, and he can't help but smile.

“Yeah, well,” Ryu grumbles, jabbing a finger at Bart's chest. “Don't go dying on me and we’re square. Even. Do people still say that? Or… you know what, forget it.”

Bart smothers a laugh. “I do know what ‘we're square’ means, Ryu. You're not that old. And it's nice to know that someone’s looking out for me.”

“Thanks, I think,” says Ryu. He squints up at Bart’s face. “How old are you, anyway?”

Bart laughs. “Now, now. I know you and Clank call me ‘old man’, but I’m not that old! What brought this on?”

The question seems to stump him, and he falls silent again, blinking owlishly at Bart’s face. He either doesn't notice or just doesn't comment on how Bart hasn't actually answered the question.

“...I’ve been thinking,” says Ryu, and Bart can almost hear Lucy saying _For once?_ in the background. “Clank said you had a date the other day, but we've never seen her around. I just wondered if you’ve got someone to take care of you, I guess.”

“Oh, he’s been around,” says Bart, because it's true. Clank’s definitely not his girlfriend in any way, shape, or form, but that's who he had a special meeting with that day, and it's not his fault the others decided to make wild speculations about his (lack of) love life.

Ryu’s eyes widen. “Oh, I--we didn't mean to--so you--”

Bart just manages to stifle the laughter that threatens to bubble out of his chest, but not the grin that stretches across his face. He takes pity on Ryu and says, “I think he's a little young to be anyone's boyfriend, but he's definitely a very good friend. You said me being single was understandable, remember?”

Ryu’s lips twitch upwards and he ducks his head, pink-cheeked and focused entirely on his drink. “I only meant that we have no idea what you do all day besides run the café, watch races, and sleep. Don't you do anything else in your spare time?”

If Ryu’s able to smile and chatter about something as trivial as this, then maybe his worry about Captain Falcon (and Bart) has already been eased. “Help out stray F-Zero pilots, apparently. It's good to know this ‘old man’s’ advice is still worth something.”

“Of course it is,” says Ryu, brows furrowed like he's confused why Bart would think otherwise. “It's always worth something.”

There's a determined look on Ryu’s face now, the bullheaded one he gets when he’s in an F-Zero race, gunning for first, with or without Zoda or Miss Killer or whatever nefarious scheme Dark Million has cooked up this time. There's just that burning, relentless focus on the goal, and right now all the passion and intensity of it is directed solely at Bart.

“What is it?” he asks, and before he can open his mouth again Ryu surges up and drags him into a kiss.

Bart’s mind blanks.

Ryu is still kissing him.

Bart, because he can't think of anything else to do, just stands there, eyes wide, hands clutching at the counter like it’s the only thing keeping him alive. Ryu’s hands, warm even through his gloves, press against his cheeks, and though Bart’s eyes are open, Ryu's are already shut. It’s not a particularly elegant melding of mouths, but, much like Ryu himself, it definitely has conviction. A little awkward, a little rough around the edges, but very warm and very much real. _Alive_. Bart hasn't forgotten Miss Killer’s recent attempt on Ryu’s life. _Too slow_ , he thinks, mouth still slack against the pressure of Ryu’s (warm, alive) lips. He was nearly too slow to save Ryu; he even has a not-quite-healed scar to show for it. As if on cue, his shoulder throbs from the awkward position it's been forced into, and when he gasps against Ryu’s mouth Ryu immediately jerks back and releases him.

Bart can't tell if he's relieved or disappointed.

“I--sorry,” Ryu says, cheeks flushed. “Are you ok?”

Bart breathes in deeply and exhales, waiting for the pain to subside. He doesn’t even know how to begin to react to everything, but soon enough his urge to reassure Ryu takes over and he manages to drag a small smile across his face. “Ah… I’m fine,” he says. “Just a little joint pain. No need to worry.”

Ryu’s shoulders lower a fraction, but the crease in his brow still lingers. “You sure?”

“I’m sure. I guess I can't really complain about being called ‘old man’, huh?”

“You’re not that old,” says Ryu, looking him straight in the eye.

Bart stares back, hands twitching for a glass and rag to occupy them. The burning sensation in his shoulder is fading to a dull ache ( _better that than Ryu’s life,_ his mind whispers), but even that isn’t enough to distract him from this...whatever this is. What can he say? What _should_ he say? He refuses to look away, though, no matter how much easier it would be than meeting that uncomfortably intense gaze. It’s just as brash and unwavering as ever, and hadn't he been admiring that conviction just a few moments (an eternity) ago?

“I’m--” _too old for you,_ he means to say, but doesn’t. Is he? Is _this_ why he’d been asking about Bart’s age?

“Cat got your tongue?”

_Do people even say that in this century?_ Bart just manages to catch him muttering under his breath. He wonders if Ryu is babbling to cover up the spots of pink still colouring his cheeks.

“I...” he tries again, but no other words come out.

Ryu gives him a crooked smile. “The one thing you don't have any advice for, huh?”

Think, what would--what would Jody do? Well, Jody would say that work comes first, definitely before any complications in one’s personal life, but the work has been coming first for a long time now, and he’s not...tired of it, or anything. He takes pride in the title he carries and the deeds he does. But there's more to life than being Captain Falcon, his young charge and the coffee shop he loves being testaments to that (even if his identities all blur together sometimes). And there should be more to Ryu’s life than fighting Dark Million as well. It’s what he was revived for, but Ryu isn’t a weapon or a tool. He's a human being with his own hopes, dreams, and desires.

One of which apparently involves kissing Bart.

“Why did you kiss me?” he finally settles on asking.

Ryu’s eyes widen to saucer-like proportions, and he gapes for a few moments before his eyebrows scrunch up and he starts to sputter. “W-What do you mean, why? Isn't it obvious?”

Bart starts to cross his arms, winces when the motion aggravates his shoulder, and sighs, settling for leaving them hanging at his sides instead. “You tell me, Ryu. Did Jack or Lucy put you up to this?”

“What? No! This isn’t a joke or, or a dare or something! Why would I…” he trails off, face turning red as he gestures wildly. The sheer amount of indignation he’s projecting is as hilarious as it is reassuring. “I’m the one who wanted to do it!”

“Because…?”

Ryu glowers at him. Angry puppy impression, back in action. “Are you being dense on purpose, old man?”

Bart holds his hands up and grimaces as the left one trembles slightly, but he manages to keep them up in a placating gesture. “No, no, of course not. And I thought you said I wasn't that old.”

Ryu's expression abruptly loses all of its bite, eyes softening despite the distracted frown still on his face. “You’re not. And you really need to take better care of yourself.”

Bart thinks that's just the tiniest bit hypocritical, coming from someone who has a worrying tendency to charge in without thinking more often than not (he’s getting better about it, but still). Now is neither the time nor place to criticize him, though, so all he says is, “You kissed me because you want me to take better care of myself?”

“Yes!”

“Ryu,” he says, “I’m not--” Not what? Not sure if this is a good idea? Not someone good to get romantically involved with? Not Ryu’s long-lost fiancée?

“Look, not-old man,” Ryu interrupts, shoving his face right up in Bart’s personal space. Not that Ryu has much of that to begin with. “I kissed you because we’re alive, because you obviously need someone to look out for you if you're gonna go around getting hurt like that, and because it's you. What's so hard to understand?”

Bart blinks. Ryu looks away, drains the remains of his drink, and makes a face at the taste of cold coffee. His face is red again, despite his defiant glare, though whether he’s worked up from frustration or embarrassment (or both) is anyone’s guess.

“Are you volunteering to be my protector?” Bart asks. His lips quirk upwards despite himself, both at the role reversal and at Ryu’s flushed face.

As predicted, Ryu immediately bristles like an offended pup--porcupine. A very red porcupine. Though he supposes that isn't really better than comparing him to a dog.

“Hey, this is no laughing matter! And so what if I am? Obviously I’m not gonna follow you around or anything, but you can always call me if you see anyone suspicious! I’m not--” Ryu pauses, drawing in a deep breath. He reaches out with his right hand, hesitates, then switches hands to grab Bart by his uninjured shoulder. “I don't wanna lose anyone to petty criminals again, whether they’re Dark Million goons or ordinary bastards who go around cutting people for fun. What happened the other day made me think--I’ve escaped a lot of near-death situations, but...I’m not invincible. No one is, not even Captain Falcon. And neither are you. So I think...I thought that maybe it’d be better to appreciate what I have now, instead of always dwelling on what I've lost.”

And...there it is. That disarming, genuine honesty that’s part of what drew him to Ryu in the first place. That openness with his emotions that ignites his very being. Heart on his sleeve, cards on the table. Maybe it's time for Bart to do the same. He knows how Captain Falcon feels about his not-quite-protégé, his comrade, but...how does Bart feel about his favourite customer, his friend? And how does Andy feel about Ryu?

Sometimes, he’s not sure how much of Andy is left. He thinks of the faces of friends dead at Dark Million’s hands, of gunfights and explosions and metal joints creaking beneath his skin. Other times, though, he remembers, like when he sees Clank grinning or Jody leading or Ryu standing in front of him now, lip bitten and fists clenched. He remembers that yes, there is still a person under that helmet, no matter what name he goes by.

This isn't the racetrack, where he knows all the rules like the back of his hand. He can’t calculate the exact speed he should go at, the exact second he should make the next turn. All he can do is examine what his gut is telling him and act accordingly.

“Call me Bart,” he says. It's not the whole truth, but it's as close to it as he can give now, because Bart is the one who is standing here, heart thundering and palms sweating and the evidence of his desperate desire to keep Ryu safe carved into his skin. “If...If you're going to be kissing me, I think we can drop the ‘old man’.”

He watches the confusion on Ryu's face morph into pure, unbridled joy, watches him grin like Bart’s just handed him the first place trophy on a golden platter, watches and doesn't resist when Ryu (gently, gently) tugs on his good shoulder and leans in to kiss him again.

Maybe they’ll crash, or maybe they'll stay on the track long enough to make it to the finish line. Either way, it’ll be one hell of a ride.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a headcanon that Bart, like Jody, is also part cyborg (at least, his right arm anyway) because he also got blown up pretty bad, right? And there's that electrical effect when he does that famous punch (sobbing sounds echo in bg).


End file.
